In reply to:

Leaving out the article "the" seems to show familiarity or association as in to town, to church, to synagogue. By the same token, clinicians and medical staff often go to hospital and professor-types go to university.

In my (Southern English) usage the difference seems to be that the indicates the institution rather than the place. Thus, the patient is in hospital, but the doctor's just left to go to the hospital. Students go to university to follow a course of study, but might go to the university to get a drink in the bar.

Bingley


Bingley